8 ms·

Pockit: A tiny, powerful, modular computer [video]

1926 points by rayrag 5y ago

ktpsns 5y ago
https://pockit.ai/ https://pockit.ai/ – for those who prefer text/images instead of video.
- matheusmoreira 5y ago
  I prefer text and images but in this case I regret not watching the video sooner. Absolutely amazing demonstration.
  - freedomben 5y ago
    yeah likewise. I almost never watch the video. If I even start it, if it doesn't get immediately to the point I shut it off. With this video my jaw kept dropping every couple of minutes.
- FR10 5y ago
  TBH the linked demo video is really good, I was really amazed after each module. I feel the website is a bit empty in comparison.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - Solder_Man 5y ago
    The project has taken so much focus that I haven't had the time nor skill to heavily improve the website's CSS/aesthetics. Or if you mean just the content, any suggestions for what I could consider adding now (besides the existent timeline posts)? I'd love for the site to not feel 'empty'!
    - noisy_boy 5y ago
      I think one approach to make the website "fuller" would be extract tiny 3-4 second gifs from the video and show them alongside text to immediately surface specific features with minimal interaction - that should be enough to whet people's appetite to make them jump to the video.
squarefoot 5y ago
Very beautiful, seems the ideal toy to teach kids how to play with technology in creative ways. It could be completed by kits with real pcbs and parts to turn the modular device into an useable functioning board. All software and firmware should also be 100% open. Schools should seriously consider adopting it, although I fear the amount of engineering and design will probably keep the price very high.
ehnto 5y ago
What impresses me the most is how holistic the project is, they are clearly using this device and thinking carefully about how to make it useful, and how it will be used.
tacticaldev 5y ago
Ok, wow! This is, by far, the most innovative "product" I've seen in years! I will definitely be keeping a very close eye on this project! I sincerely hope it does well enough to get to production levels large enough to be "affordable". I would totally buy this for my Daughter's as a way to get them interested in building/coding.
- tomcam 5y ago
  Is there a page that lets you buy things? I couldn’t find one on mobile
mib32 5y ago
Man I so much wish to do something like that, but 40 hour job eats all the time. Can somebody give an advice how to find time to doing such interesting things?
- Koshkin 5y ago
  Does not seem possible if you have a family (young kids, especially).
- corobo 5y ago
  What do you do outside of the 40 hour job?
  - Koshkin 5y ago
    Spending the money earned, too, takes time.
  - mib32 5y ago
    Like, eating, walking out, talking with wife, reading something, playing xbox occasionally - like the things that I wanna keep even if I do the side project.
    - criddell 5y ago
      You would have to take the time from those things.
      - lostmsu 5y ago
        Also from job too. Many software shops look at the result, rather than the time spent. Might need to shuffle hours in some jurisdictions though.
Koshkin 5y ago
Impressive, but let’s not forget that we live in an age of miracles. A terabyte in a chip the size of your pinky’s fingernail? You’ve got it! A supercomputer in your pocket? Sure!
dt3ft 5y ago
Whoa! This has the potential to grow to unimaginable scale! I'm seeing star-trek gadgets. I'd love to get my hands on a starter kit.
morelish 5y ago
some big company ought to buy him out right now...
- BirAdam 5y ago
  I thought the same thing, but then I had a reality check. If this gets bought by a tech company it will likely be ruined or killed off, or first ruined and then killed off.
  - RTFM_PLEASE 5y ago
    "Been there, done that." - Google https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwrIpv38nE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwrIpv38nE
hathym 5y ago
very nice project, it reminds me of the LG G5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4GZQyJMoyo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4GZQyJMoyo)
dusted 5y ago
it's super cool, but I have some difficulty finding a "not just playing around" use case for it, not because it's useless, but because I can't come up with a use case that would be dynamic.. I'd not want to pay for the modularity overhead for using them as, for instance, light switches around the house.. Anyone got some cool ideas for what to do with them?
- antattack 5y ago
  Learning programming will be much more fun since input and output are more then just keyboard and monitor.
- philote 5y ago
  I think it's a good prototyping tool, and also makes it easy to do smaller, temporary projects. For myself, I'd like to set up that motion-sensing camera feature to check when my dog sneaks down into the basement to pee. Or set up a display next to my kids' computers to alert them to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Or set it outside to see when my neighbor's dog (or deer or other wildlife) comes into my yard. You could also use it to track who drives by your house and whether they're speeding. Or set it at your desk at work for a week and track how many times someone interrupts you. Or pull an elaborate April Fool's joke.
tomlin 5y ago
This is the stuff of future design. I love it.
cs702 5y ago
Wow. I've rarely come a cross a demo in which things keep getting better and better and better and better. I find it hard to believe that one individual plus a small community of hackers have built all of it. Amazing, amazing work. The one question I kept asking myself as I was watching the demo: Is there a mass market for such a beautiful, elegant, modular computing device?
- roughly 5y ago
  If you're asking aspirationally, I agree - I'd prefer a world in which this was what people expected and wanted from their technology. I think the ongoing success of Lego gives me some hope here for a mass market for tinkering. If you're asking more practically - the success of Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Seeed, and others suggests there's at least potentially a market here sufficient to sustain a moderately sized business for long enough to be worthwhile. Agree about the demo, too - there's some serious wizardry on display there. I think it's one of the projects that just gets more impressive the more time you've spent trying to do what they're showing off.
- Solder_Man 5y ago
  I think @roughly provided a good balance of practicality + optimism in their answer. My thoughts: Not immediately, but yes, eventually. Humans have an innate willingness and desire to tinker+make things. Those qualities have gone into hibernation due to the vast array of mass-manufactured, off-the-shelf devices in the last decade. But many (have and will) come to realize that the satisfaction ceiling is so much higher when you build something yourself, getting your hands dirty, and looking at the product of your efforts. Just that reason is enough to give rebirth to the experimental/inventive attitude that pervaded the 20th century. But there's also the fact that a personalized something can allow you to do stuff that a typical consumer product couldn't. Pockit just aims to enable and accelerate the above realization for hardware, the way that libraries and frameworks have done for the programming world.
baalimago 5y ago
I have no idea what the usecase is, but it's incredibly impressive from a technical standpoint
noneeeed 5y ago
It's like a grown-up version of the Little Bits kits. How very impressive.
rapjr9 5y ago
This work is impressive and I'd like to see it continue. I do see some issues though. The problem of connector reliability has already been mentioned. Let's say I add two LED modules and two sliders and I want each slider to control one LED, or I want both sliders to control both LED's or I want both sliders to control both LED's but one slider's action is reversed. That decision is in my mind and can not be automatically guessed, there has to be some way to decide which modules are linked to other modules and what action is expected. Do I want motion detected by a PIR sensor to turn a light on via a relay module or turn a light off (when I'm walking up stairs out of a basement)? Again, a need to configure. To go deeper, say I connect an I2C temperature and humidity sensor and I want the temperature to control a heating pad and the humidity to control a humidifier, plus I want a readout of both on an LCD module and I want both to feed into another LCD module that displays an air quality index while another LCD module shows CPU temperature. Configuration is needed. If I add 5 camera modules, do I run out of high speed buses? So far I see a few specialized use cases demonstrated, but not a general method of interface and routing configuration. Modules may need to be configured also (does the temperature module report Fahrenheit or Celsius? Is the conversion handled in the sensor or the app?) As soon as you start to build anything complex the default behavior is not likely to be what you want (try building an audio mixing board out of modules), so I see a limit on complexity. The capabilities of the editor mentioned in the video will be interesting (to be shown in a future video it says). Connections to external devices that are not wireless also seem like an issue, a pull on the HDMI cable is going to pull the HDMI module off the board. If I plug in a slider, a button and an HDMI module what are the slider and button automatically configured to do to the HDMI module? There is an attempt here to encode common functionality and routing. That only allows you to do common things, not uncommon ones. Still, until you try you don't know what is possible or how far this could go. I would encourage using optical and wireless interfaces instead of wired interfaces since those are much less sensitive to the quality of the contact. Power supply could be inductively coupled. If you make it all RF wireless you don't need the baseboard, the modules could be anywhere, powered by anything. The modules, especially the inputs, should be able to dynamically alter the routing of all the other modules (for example, routing audio from five input modules to either or both of two audio output modules controlled by a 3-state switch.) In some ways I see this as building a configurator for an MCU. MCU's have all kinds of I/O, timers, interrupts, some have RF interfaces and sensors, etc. Imagine all the modules (or at least RF/optical interfaces to them) already built into a chip and you just want to configure them for a specific application. Instead of copying the example code for a SPI interface and modifying it, you instead just configure it in a configurator. The configurator could automatically recognize multiple chips and let you route RF/optical connections between them (with a selection of protocols) and configure their I/O. No need for a baseboard or modules, everything is just general purpose chips with tons of stuff already built into it (sensors, RF, I/O, protocols), and you just turn on and off and route whatever parts you need. Sounds somewhat wasteful, but if you make a trillion chips like this it may actually be more efficient, particularly in terms of human effort, for building a wide range of systems. Security would be a problem, if a flaw is found in the basic design everything built using it would be vulnerable. Reliability might be increased since anything that fails would be trivial to replace.
mrfinn 5y ago
Lego meets Arduino. Loved every second of the demonstration.
neurocat123 5y ago
What happens when we take this concept into the third dimension—could we assemble these modular blocks into a mass of computronium? Perhaps slightly more realistically speaking, could they be made stackable? Perhaps this could be a way to set up certain operations, for instance you could have some hardware for doing efficient convolutions on a camera feed as a "middle" block.
moonlighter 5y ago
This is pretty incredible. An entirely different level than the old and trusty breadboards! Love how the components just snap magnetically and load the best-matching software to support them. Looks super promising!
Venkatesh10 5y ago
Looks good. But how will it perform over the years to come?
- vanderZwan 5y ago
  Arguably it would be better than current solutions because you can upgrade the modules that need upgrading while keeping the stuff that works, instead of throwing out everything and starting over.
  - izzydata 5y ago
    Unless you want it to have a better computer. The computer doesn't seem modular to me. You can't quickly add additional or better memory. You can't replace the processor with a better one. The computer itself is a single entity that in many ways is less modular than a traditional desktop computer. Wouldn't a desktop with 100 USB ports be a modular computer in the same sense as this thing?
    - vanderZwan 5y ago
      It's a 25 dollar Raspberry Pi, not a 1000 dollar desktop.
      - xondono 5y ago
        So you are arguing this is better because you don’t have to throw it all together but then arguing throwing everything is not that bad? At least USB has and will be supported for years. The next revision will likely be incompatible with this limited cross connector (which I admit is cool nonetheless).
        vanderZwan 5y ago
        No, I'm saying the modularity has limits that are defined by the use-cases this is designed for. Which seems to be smart-home applications and/or quick prototyping. A 25 dollar compute module seems like a perfectly sensible compromise to me in that context. If you need the modularity and power of a desktop computer so you can install a boat-load of RAM or upgrade the video card, get a desktop computer.
th0ma5 5y ago
The hardware is very cool. The start of the integration with the dashboard is neat, but I'm not entirely sure how useful it would be other than making a video like this. Perhaps something like OSC or something could help keep it modular from a software standpoint and not so toy seeming. I also think a lot of software has whole knows what layers expecting hardware to not just suddenly disappear. Appear is maybe less a thing.
- ajsnigrutin 5y ago
  Yep, looks great as a toy, but seems not-that-ok for any serious use, because for static setups, all the alternatives are a lot cheaper, because they don't have to be modular (eg. touchscreen display for controlling home automation). But I like the concept for areas such as schools etc., because it makes it possible to try a bunch of different things very fast.
  - Tade0 5y ago
    As a third generation hoarder I have to say that the number one thing preventing me from doing projects such as home automation is that since I struggle with throwing stuff out, failed/deprecated devices would just pile up and I don't want that.
  - vidarh 5y ago
    The alternatives may be cheaper if you can find one that does what you want. But in terms of the ability to quickly throw something together where existing stuff doesn't quite do what you want or is locked down, it looks amazing. In terms of "serious use" I think that depends on what you mean by "serious". E.g. my hone automation setup is not static, because I keep finding new little things I want to tweak, and often the ready-made solution lack options I'd like to have unless I'm willing to spend time tracking down very specific modules. My time is valuable to me - I'd happily pay extra for a modular system where I know if something is lacking a button for something I want I can literally just plug one in instead of having to search all over for a different model of something. Of course this will not replace mass market "close enough" solutions. But I think there are still more than enough people who want to tinker but don't want to have to whip out a soldering iron.
pjmlp 5y ago
Quite impressive demo.
nonrandomstring 5y ago
Sometimes the point of a technology is not its direct utility but to carry forth or promote an idea. Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear reactors. Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea that technology is configurable at the physical level without electronics skills. Strong interoperability legislation should be a part of technology going forward. Industry will welcome and adapt to it because it's ultimately a better compromise than tougher regulation and export controls.
- snek_case 5y ago
  > Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear reactors. Sounds cool, but the reality is that in order to get the best efficiency, you often want a purpose-built, specialized design. In the case of electric cars, you need your car to be very light and to have a very integrated design in order to maximize energy efficiency. I'm not sure what you mean by a modular car design, but you definitely can't fit any motors with any battery in any frame, that will just make for a car with terrible performance. That being said, we should be designing things to maximize lifetime, and we should probably ban certain materials or construction techniques that make recycling difficult. Maybe we need to ban or heavily tax non-recyclable materials. We could also do more to build a legal framework around right to repair. > Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea that technology is configurable at the physical level without electronics skills. Kids is probably the best use case. As someone who makes things I look at this product and I think it's necessarily going to be more expensive and less flexible compared to alternatives. For kids though, this can be a gateway to make electronics less scary. > Strong interoperability legislation should be a part of technology going forward. Industry will welcome and adapt to it because it's ultimately a better compromise than tougher regulation and export controls. I agree. We should be strongly promoting (and maybe legally mandating) open, documented standards for everything.
  - toqy 5y ago
    > I think it's necessarily going to be more expensive and less flexible compared to alternatives What are the alternatives? Is there something like this I can get my hands on now?
lanewinfield 5y ago
As far as I can tell, this is a single individual that has done all of this work. I am floored at the design and intricacy of this project. Really, truly blown away. I'm sure there are plenty of edge cases to correct for but I haven't gotten so excited by a demo in a long time. I've obviously signed up to learn more.
- seanw444 5y ago
  Wow. One person. That's insane. This is a really cool project. I just signed up as well. Color me impressed.
- symstym 5y ago
  But remember, there's no such thing as a 10x engineer! /s
- philliphaydon 5y ago
  1 person? Man it's an absolutely incredible feat. I'm also blown away, and I want to play around with it. I would love to try and automate parts of the house and such.
  - renonce 5y ago
    Pockit is just one of the small parts needed to automate parts of your house. All your devices have to cooperate smoothly and this will require a standardized IoT API from manufacturers.
    - philliphaydon 5y ago
      Sure but you could 3d print parts to automate traditional things and build on top of pockit. That’s what I like.
    - stavros 5y ago
      That exists, eg Zigbee or Z-Wave. I have Zigbee (it's an open standard) and I love it. Having the home automation communications be a message queue instead of a general-purpose communication protocol is so much better.
therein 5y ago
Amazing demo. Simply floored.
code_scrapping 5y ago
Blown away, by both the adaptiveness of the platform and software. It feels like the flexibility that I'd want for all of my prototyping experiments. Signed-up, and patiently cheering from the side-lines.
afarviral 5y ago
So cool. Anyone criticizing the real utility of one of these (e.g. calling it a toy) is not thinking long term. Over time a single unit could be repurposed for any number of distinct and serious usecases (home automation being the most natural fit, but many others), and this and its software are important steps toward a more robust and useful devices and less waste. Minitirized, waterproofed, secure and many more modules and "apps", standardized and mass produced. This is huge. Keep going!
- whartung 5y ago
  Honestly, it is a toy. A very cool toy, a very sophisticated toy, but a toy nonetheless. There were in the past, and I think still today, electronic sets that let you click together modules with magnets to make circuits. It was a very handsy, easy way to play with electronics. But, in the end, that's what it was -- play and exploration. The beauty of the concept is the easy interchange of the parts and such, and that's it downfall when you desire to render something down in to a "production" item. And by production, I mean something you're going to handle with any frequency. The ease of composability is counter to the hardening necessity for everyday use. I supposed you could glue the parts together, but by that time whatever you made is now made of rather expensive components. Or they could offer an alternate mechanic to "realize" systems built for the longer term. Until then, it's a wonderful toy. And that's not a bad thing.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - hnfong 5y ago
    I'm not imaginative enough to come up with actual scenarios, but I think it could plausibly become a "Swiss army knife" of electronics though?
  - arendtio 5y ago
    To me it feels more like, being the thing for home computing/automation, that the PC was for computing in general. A PC has not a clear single purpose, but is very modular and you have to spent some time to adjust it to your use-cases. Similarly, the pockit has not that single use-case and you have to spent some time to adjust it to your use-case. However, especially with the Pockit-to-Pockit communication you can build so many cool things. Maybe a PC is just a toy too, but IMHO it depends on how you use it.
kwhitefoot 5y ago
Reminds me of M5Stack: https://m5stack.com/ https://m5stack.com/
gswdh 5y ago
rayrag 5y ago
Discussion/AMA on Reddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modular_pc_running_linux_updated_demo/ https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modu... Shorter demo (7:30) submitted to Reddit: https://v.redd.it/3wfbkleb4dm81 https://v.redd.it/3wfbkleb4dm81
- beckman466 5y ago
  very first Reddit post about this project from the creator from 2 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/comments/dj7ilc/so_ive_been_making_tiny_electronic_bricks_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/comments/dj7ilc/so_ive_been... all posts about this project (around 30): https://www.reddit.com/user/Solder_Man/posts/ https://www.reddit.com/user/Solder_Man/posts/
shabier 5y ago
This is really incredible. I can't wait to get my hands on the device and tinker around with it. It is giving me the same vibe as project Ara[0], and I'm here for it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara
kaishiro 5y ago
Man. You think you're doing alright and then something like this comes along and just screams your inadequacies at you. What a wild achievement. Well done.
- vishkk 5y ago
  Whatever it was — a lie, the truth, or, most likely, their mixture — that caused me to make such a decision, I am immensely grateful to it for what appears to have been my first free act. It was an instinctive act, a walkout. Reason had very little to do with it. I know that, because I've been walking out ever since, with increasing frequency. And not necessarily on account of boredom or of feeling a trap gaping; I've been walking out of perfect setups no less often than out of dreadful ones. However modest the place you happen to occupy, if it has the slightest mark of decency, you can be sure that someday somebody will walk in and claim it for himself or, what is worse, suggest that you share it. Then you either have to fight for that place or leave it. I happened to prefer the latter. Not at all because I couldn't fight, but rather out of sheer disgust with myself: managing to pick something that attracts others denotes a certain vulgarity in your choice. It doesn't matter at all that you came across the place first. It is even worse to get somewhere first, for those who follow will always have a stronger appetite than your partially satisfied one. - Joseph Brodsky
  - papandada 5y ago
    I'm not very well read but this writing seemed extraordinary. Turns out he won a Nobel prize for literature.
    - scoot 5y ago
      Meanwhile I have no idea what he's talking about. Perhaps it's lack of context, or perhaps the writing is so "extraordinary" that it is unapproachable to mere mortals.
      - bityard 5y ago
        It's (at least partly) about trying something new and learning to be happy with whatever level of success you achieve rather than envious of or competitive against those who do the same thing but do it better. At least, that's the way I took it.
vidarh 5y ago
It's been quite a few years since I was vowed by a hardware demonstration. This is amazing.
account_created 5y ago
Mind blowing. My reaction was: "Ok, that's cool, but he can not have X module" a minute later "X" appears, and it went throughout the video.
lloydatkinson 5y ago
I'm sure this will be killed off just like the CHIP computer
TamDenholm 5y ago
This reminds me of LittleBits [1] many years ago i bought a kit from them that was really very expensive and had some fun. The only problem is i never touched them again after the first couple of weeks of playing with them. However, they're certainly an excellent learning tool for kids and beginners. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LittleBits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LittleBits
- erwincoumans 5y ago
  Yes, we had several kits too, including SynthKit (LittleBits with Korg). The magnetic connectors of LittleBits became unreliable after a while, making it frustrating instead of enjoyable. Wish one could fix that properly.
- prmoustache 5y ago
  That's the problem with this kind of things. They mostly attract people interested in tech, but those kind of people are usuallt already working in tech. As much as I love those things, the last thing I want when I lock my laptop is start coding and fiddling with electronic devices. I either have to take care of the kids or go for a bicycle ride, spend time with my partner, have a beer or the sea/beach or all of the above and in no particular order. I need so much to be outdoor when I finish my work day I barely find time to make music although I love doing that. The people who could do that are the people who have time to spend hours watching Netflix series but usually they are the lazy type and not interested in that kind of things. Unless it is used by a school most of those things end up in drawer not to be used again.
  - Koshkin 5y ago
    Indeed, people have reported having drawers full of Raspberry Pi’s, never to be touched again.
mothsonasloth 5y ago
Very cool, It reminds me of Star Trek's Isolinear chips that you would see Crew members slotting or re-ordering to create different effects, or create an ionic pulse from the deflector shield. https://youtu.be/rr8eO6gfnuY?t=66 https://youtu.be/rr8eO6gfnuY?t=66
beckman466 5y ago
this reminded me of Dave Hakkens and his Phonebloks concept video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDAw7vW7H0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDAw7vW7H0c
- RTFM_PLEASE 5y ago
  Yeah, the first 10 seconds of the Pockit video immediately sent me back nearly 10 years to Phonebloks. Some follow up: Typical, fairly sensationalist piece on Google's Project Ara - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQqudiUdGuo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQqudiUdGuo and then, Phonebloks, 5 years later - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwrIpv38nE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwrIpv38nE
kilroy123 5y ago
I really want this to become a thing. I feel like computers and tech have become less and less fun over the years as it has become so commercialized. Something about this just seems fresh and fun again.
- drekipus 5y ago
  This is literally a commerical project that will most likely come with a form of lock in (ie: can just anyone make modules?) Tech is still fun. It might just be that you're getting older. Arduino and the like are probably the least commercialised and they are ok. But everyone grows out of them.
allisdust 5y ago
At the minimum this should win a design award of some kind. Looks like it quickly becomes complex when we combine software to the hardware but the way it seem to work with so many connectors feels just so intuitive.
throwaway5486nv 5y ago
This is mind blowing
adrianthedev 5y ago
Wow. This is like a low-code arduino. Amazing!
- wnolens 5y ago
  yes, cool way to think of it: low/no-code hardware.
severak_cz 5y ago
Ok. I am subscribed. If this goes for reasonable price and has some kind of soundcard block I am going to buy this and made synth out of it.
matlo 5y ago
Really impressive work
marcodiego 5y ago
Looks like Project Ara done right.
aqibgatoo 5y ago
Wohoo! I am blown away!
vivegi 5y ago
This is a great design and I absolutely love it. How does one build apps / custom behaviors for the hardware components?
u2077 5y ago
Truly impressive. Reminds me of Google’s (failed) attempt at modular devices. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara
- moffkalast 5y ago
  Was about to say, yep. "Oh, look! Here's Ara. Back from the dead. It's a miracle."
jet_32951 5y ago
So very many applications! One is it will make lashing up an approximately-OK control system easier early in a project. There are five or six machine designs in my past where having a rudimentary control system was needed for initial testing. This would have saved days or weeks on each one.
- throwaway5486nv 5y ago
  you mean for building ciruits? Could you please elaborate. I thought control systems was necessary for physical objects
bbayer 5y ago
Such modular design is tricky. Some parts require close distance to specific components like clocks. OP did a good job by solving such problems.
bodge5000 5y ago
was hooked as soon as I saw the MIDI out module, for musical applications alone this could be a gamechanger (to my knowledge theres nothing else truly like it out there, outside of complete DIY)
jpm_sd 5y ago
Previously https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590715 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590715
- dang 5y ago
  Thanks! Macroexpanded: Pockit Modular computing demo [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590715 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590715 - March 2021 (33 comments) Project Pockit, a modular ARM computer runnig Linux - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26547377 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26547377 - March 2021 (15 comments)
tjchear 5y ago
Seeing Pockit gives me an idea: can we do something similar for Web APIs? Perhaps a web app with a 2D board where users can place modular blocks the same way one would place Pockit blocks on the magnetic breadboard. We could have a geolocation module, vibration module, button module, slider module, camera module, etc. Like Pockit, the system finds a script with the closest matching blocks to what's placed on the grid, and runs the script. E.g placing a camera flashlight module + button module on the grid triggers a script that would toggle the light when the button is pressed. User could also write their own scripts.
- severak_cz 5y ago
  It's already done. This is how these "website builders" (e.g. Wix) works - your put different modules onto a template and build your site out of these. Also Drupal and Wordpress have similar funcionality via plugins.
  - tjchear 5y ago
    Right, but I wasn't talking about website builders. I'm talking about enabling access to a phone's various sensors and capabilities through a manner similar to Pockit.
- punnerud 5y ago
  How would that be different from NodeRed? https://nodered.org/ https://nodered.org/
  - tjchear 5y ago
    What I have in mind is rather different. Imagine your phone simulating a Pockit experience, except the sensor modules are what your phone already provides (e.g geolocation, gyroscope, accelerometer, etc), the I/O are simulated buttons/sliders and screens. That's what I'm thinking.
    - orbifold 5y ago
      That is a cool idea :)
allenu 5y ago
Wow. This is so incredibly well done. The tech itself is amazing, but so is the design of everything, not to mention it’s all well presented visually. It reminds me of the classic “mother of all demos”.
wnolens 5y ago
What a beautiful labour of love. Thank you, I'm inspired.
duxup 5y ago
I’ve stared playing with an Arduino recently and thought “it would be handy if the various sensors and add ons just snapped on”…. This appears to be that, but with a Pi (and of course a lot of impressive finish / software ). A Pi for the masses / convince sounds amazing.
- beal 5y ago
  I did a similar thing with the air gradient diy kit. That these are pi based run full Linux and allow changes over time is is really compelling.
- rapjr9 5y ago
  Take a look at Seeedstudio's Grove line of modules: https://www.seeedstudio.com/category/Grove-c-1003.html https://www.seeedstudio.com/category/Grove-c-1003.html
izzydata 5y ago
Maybe I am being over critical, but this is not what I imagine when I think of a modular computer. It's cool being able to swap in and out all kinds of peripherals like that in any position and orientation, but the computer itself does not seem modular. Unless you could connect multiples of them together and increase their performance and space for more peripherals without causing additional overhead.
- bee_rider 5y ago
  He has a TPU tile. Automagically plugging in more compute would, I guess, require OS or application level support.
- bityard 5y ago
  The "computer" is not really the interesting part here. In fact, this product seems to exclusively rely on cheap devices that anyone can already buy (current supply chain notwithstanding) linked together by very well-standardized buses. The magic here is the overall flexibility and modularity of the system taken to a nearly absurd level. Kickstarter is lousy with smaller-scale attempts at what Anil has achieved. But where this really shines is in the software: You plug in some components and the system can automatically figure out what you want to do with them, and configure an application to use them instantly, at least for many simple but common cases. I really hope that when this is available, it ends up being a largely open ecosystem like the Framework laptop.
Uptrenda 5y ago
What a truly beautiful and elegant design. This is so reminiscent of the hacker ethos in how it captures the potential and love of technology. How can a project this creative not be more famous? I have seen many of these kinds of 'small, powerful computer projects' before and I've never felt inspired by any of them. But this project really captures the imagination with the potential of modularity / expanding capabilities. This is honestly so creative. It makes me filled with that childish sense of wonder I initially had with coding. What things could you make if you had a whole box of snap-ins and a few Pockits? This is frigging insane. If you're an angel investor consider throwing this guy a bone!
- babagabooj 5y ago
  - NhanH 5y ago
    Even self promotion (Show HN) is allow on HN, given that it satisfies the main criteria of the website
  - Maraguy 5y ago
    Don't see any problem with that, if true or not. This a pretty amazing project with huge potential.
- hasmatteam 5y ago
  Felt the same way. It's been a while since I've felt this way about any technology. Feels good!
jack_riminton 5y ago
I can't believe this is just one guy. Get him a MacArthur genius grant, quickly
- joezydeco 5y ago
  There are loads of embedded systems hackers doing great things by themselves. They just get lost on Hacker News. Bunnie is probably one exception to that rule, though.
space_rock 5y ago
Can we get internet of things devices with power of ethernet? Seems so much easier that WiFi, Bluetooth and a battery and usb for recharging
- ibejoeb 5y ago
  That would be excellent. A little box that I can plug in with one wire and be done. Alternatively, I'd like a software product that makes it a snap to run programs on cloud provider but bridged/tunneled as if they were running on my local lan. I want it to support multicast dns and all of that stuff for things like sonos, zigby, chromecast, airplay, etc.
  - erulabs 5y ago
    This is extremely close to what we're building at https://pibox.io https://pibox.io if you're interested - although after some polls we decided to drop PoE on our first model. Just improved the mDNS support last night!
ibejoeb 5y ago
Love the physical switches and controls. This is like VB but IRL.
rpmisms 5y ago
This is insane. Sure, it's not on the level of a professional tool, but you can emulate so many professional tools with it that who cares? Many people want a thermal camera on occasion, but probably don't need one lying around all the time. Here's the solution. Maybe you want a Gameboy? Put one together on a lazy afternoon and play some retro games. Oh, you just want a quick and dirty USB hub? Do it. Oh, no! Your car is acting weird and you want to stream the OBD-II data and match it with accelerometer data? Go for it! This is just insane in terms of flexibility, and I think it could replace many devices people use extremely infrequently, as well as do other things we don't really think about. And it's fun! Technology is absolutely insane now, and I think we neglect the fun aspect too much. Edit: I used the word insane a lot. I stand by it.
motohagiography 5y ago
When you struggle to think of what can't be composed in this architecture, it's a whole new way of building. It's clearly the expression of an incredibly elegant mind. Watching that demo was a moment that reminded me of a now famous comp.os.minix usenet post from the early 90s.
- xondono 5y ago
  > When you struggle to think of what can't be composed in this architecture Anything requiring low latency or high-throughput will probably struggle here.
syassami 5y ago
Wow.
idiotsecant 5y ago
This reminds me a little of the philosophy of the "frame.work" laptop. While it approaches the problem from the 'let's make a modular,repairable laptop' side and this approaches it from the 'let's make a powerful and easily extendable embedded device' side. immensely ambitious and cool projects, both!
hemloc_io 5y ago
Woah this is massively cool! I've always wanted little bits and bobs of hardware to mess around with, but actually getting into the EE required for it is fun but time consuming. This really fits right into what I'd want for something that allows for quick POCs, prototypes and just trying new stuff out. I'd love to make things like a hacked together OP1! https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1 https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1
danShumway 5y ago
I can't think of why I'd practically need or want this. I know on some level it's a toy, and there are better ways to implement all of this stuff if you're trying to make cost-effective hardware projects. However, wow do I want one. This is so cool, I heckin love this. I love everything about this. The whole thing just looks delightful from the blocks, to the configuration/programming, to how real-time and responsive the feedback is when moving blocks around and hooking stuff up. Amazing presentation too, this video is really well made.
debdut 5y ago
True example what an individual can achieve! Blown away
baalimago 5y ago
I'm much more interested in the person than in the product, in this particular case
netspider 5y ago
I would like to know the person behind this project?
mindfulplay 5y ago
Quite amazing! Regardless of the profitability or scaling this up, it’s refreshing seeing the modularity where the sum is much larger than the parts. Well, here the sum likely is larger than the product!
davesque 5y ago
I'm imagining that the creator of this project really went the distance in sticking to their initial vision of what was possible. I think sometimes visionary projects fail because the creators eventually compromise on the vision when the devils emerge from the details. But, if they can muster enough technical competence and determination to push through that difficulty, we get something like pockit. The video really makes me want to hear from the creator about the process of developing pockit and how different challenges were overcome.
mastax 5y ago
All I want to know about this is what the pinout of the connector is. I want to know how it was done and the limits of what it can do. The author has provided very little information about it[0], which makes me a little suspicious. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modular_pc_running_linux_updated_demo/hzz84c7/ https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modu...
- Taniwha 5y ago
  Yeah I want to know that too - I'm not so much suspicious, he's obviously done something amazing - more I wonder if he really has 12 pcie buses and they are they really wired in a way that they can be hooked up in 4 different orientations? (and what is the signal integrity like?)
webXL 5y ago
Blow away by the different tech demo'd here. It reminded me of "The Mother of All Demos" by Douglas Engelbart
breadchris 5y ago
checks calendar to see if this is an april fools joke nope, this is just amazing
gentle 5y ago
This is so great. It reminds me of what BugLabs was doing about ten years ago, but this is honestly better.
amarento 5y ago
The demo, on its own, is a masterpiece, as is the idea behind the whole thing. Bravo !
nl 5y ago
Please do a Kickstarter. I want to put money into this now.
huachimingo 5y ago
Already spreading the video through "contacts" ;) What an amazing design.
stormbrew 5y ago
If anyone else is curious, like I was, about what the signal bus is like on the pins, and couldn't find much detail on the website, the person behind this explained a bit on the reddit AMA someone linked: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modular_pc_running_linux_updated_demo/hzz84c7/ https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modu... So it seems like it's kind of like low-pin-count ISA-ish bus with direct pin connections to the cpu's pins. Presumably that limits how big a board you can have to the number of gpio pins you've got, or you'd have to build some kind of multiplexing like oldschool irq/port sharing... I'm really curious if it would be possible to do this as, essentially, single lane PCIe blocks instead. I think it would be harder from a hobby-project perspective (and also probably complexify the blocks), but PCIe is kind of built around flexible topologies so you could build it around a pcie root complex/switch instead of just directly exposing pins to the devices ISA-style.
- xondono 5y ago
  > So it seems like it's kind of like low-pin-count ISA-ish bus with direct pin connections to the cpu's pins. SPI and I2C plus some generic pins. This are the typical interfaces used in microcontrollers. If I were to build a “bigger” versions of this, I’d avoid PCIe altogether and jump to USB 3.x directly, since it’s a much better fit.
ideology228 5y ago
This is one of the coolest thing I have seen in a long time.. awesome work
saulrh 5y ago
I can see this as a general-purpose computing device, but what I really want this for is simulation gaming. I could make a new instrument panel for every rocket I build in Kerbal Space Program. A dedicated selection of dials and toggles for every application I use. A different set of gauges and sliders for every plane in DCS! It'd be great!
arendtio 5y ago
> For this block's current version, I soldered circuitry directly taken from Google's dev board (10:57) Best line ever :D It is one thing to have the skill to solder a chip off an existing board without damaging it, but being able to reused the same chip with a completely different hardware interface is just impressive.
anonu 5y ago
This is beautiful. This is where art meets technology - and that's always been a fascinating crossroad for me.
throwaway5486nv 5y ago
Does each block require separate power source or the power comes from the core block(base)?
bloopernova 5y ago
I am blown away. I can't even imagine how complex the code must be behind the scenes for all of that to work together.
copirate 5y ago
Open sourcing it hasn't been decided yet: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pockit/comments/plhugs/is_this_project_open_source/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Pockit/comments/plhugs/is_this_proj...
FpUser 5y ago
I can't find any uses of it for me personally but I find this thing incredibly cool and nicely engineered and with attractive design. Could be a gold mine for kids education. Assuming of course there are no similar things from big guys (I've no idea what is really out there in this area). As a work of a single person this project is totally amazing. The author is a gem.

1926 points by rayrag 5y ago

ktpsns 5y ago

https://pockit.ai/ https://pockit.ai/ – for those who prefer text/images instead of video.

matheusmoreira 5y ago
I prefer text and images but in this case I regret not watching the video sooner. Absolutely amazing demonstration.
- freedomben 5y ago
  yeah likewise. I almost never watch the video. If I even start it, if it doesn't get immediately to the point I shut it off. With this video my jaw kept dropping every couple of minutes.
FR10 5y ago
TBH the linked demo video is really good, I was really amazed after each module. I feel the website is a bit empty in comparison.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Solder_Man 5y ago
  The project has taken so much focus that I haven't had the time nor skill to heavily improve the website's CSS/aesthetics. Or if you mean just the content, any suggestions for what I could consider adding now (besides the existent timeline posts)? I'd love for the site to not feel 'empty'!
  - noisy_boy 5y ago
    I think one approach to make the website "fuller" would be extract tiny 3-4 second gifs from the video and show them alongside text to immediately surface specific features with minimal interaction - that should be enough to whet people's appetite to make them jump to the video.

squarefoot 5y ago

Very beautiful, seems the ideal toy to teach kids how to play with technology in creative ways. It could be completed by kits with real pcbs and parts to turn the modular device into an useable functioning board. All software and firmware should also be 100% open. Schools should seriously consider adopting it, although I fear the amount of engineering and design will probably keep the price very high.

ehnto 5y ago

What impresses me the most is how holistic the project is, they are clearly using this device and thinking carefully about how to make it useful, and how it will be used.

tacticaldev 5y ago

Ok, wow! This is, by far, the most innovative "product" I've seen in years! I will definitely be keeping a very close eye on this project! I sincerely hope it does well enough to get to production levels large enough to be "affordable". I would totally buy this for my Daughter's as a way to get them interested in building/coding.

tomcam 5y ago
Is there a page that lets you buy things? I couldn’t find one on mobile

mib32 5y ago

Man I so much wish to do something like that, but 40 hour job eats all the time. Can somebody give an advice how to find time to doing such interesting things?

Koshkin 5y ago
Does not seem possible if you have a family (young kids, especially).
corobo 5y ago
What do you do outside of the 40 hour job?
- Koshkin 5y ago
  Spending the money earned, too, takes time.
- mib32 5y ago
  Like, eating, walking out, talking with wife, reading something, playing xbox occasionally - like the things that I wanna keep even if I do the side project.
  - criddell 5y ago
    You would have to take the time from those things.
    - lostmsu 5y ago
      Also from job too. Many software shops look at the result, rather than the time spent. Might need to shuffle hours in some jurisdictions though.

Koshkin 5y ago

Impressive, but let’s not forget that we live in an age of miracles. A terabyte in a chip the size of your pinky’s fingernail? You’ve got it! A supercomputer in your pocket? Sure!

dt3ft 5y ago

Whoa! This has the potential to grow to unimaginable scale! I'm seeing star-trek gadgets. I'd love to get my hands on a starter kit.

morelish 5y ago

some big company ought to buy him out right now...

BirAdam 5y ago
I thought the same thing, but then I had a reality check. If this gets bought by a tech company it will likely be ruined or killed off, or first ruined and then killed off.
- RTFM_PLEASE 5y ago
  "Been there, done that." - Google https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwrIpv38nE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwrIpv38nE

hathym 5y ago

very nice project, it reminds me of the LG G5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4GZQyJMoyo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4GZQyJMoyo)

dusted 5y ago

it's super cool, but I have some difficulty finding a "not just playing around" use case for it, not because it's useless, but because I can't come up with a use case that would be dynamic.. I'd not want to pay for the modularity overhead for using them as, for instance, light switches around the house.. Anyone got some cool ideas for what to do with them?

antattack 5y ago
Learning programming will be much more fun since input and output are more then just keyboard and monitor.
philote 5y ago
I think it's a good prototyping tool, and also makes it easy to do smaller, temporary projects. For myself, I'd like to set up that motion-sensing camera feature to check when my dog sneaks down into the basement to pee. Or set up a display next to my kids' computers to alert them to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Or set it outside to see when my neighbor's dog (or deer or other wildlife) comes into my yard. You could also use it to track who drives by your house and whether they're speeding. Or set it at your desk at work for a week and track how many times someone interrupts you. Or pull an elaborate April Fool's joke.

tomlin 5y ago

This is the stuff of future design. I love it.

cs702 5y ago

Wow. I've rarely come a cross a demo in which things keep getting better and better and better and better. I find it hard to believe that one individual plus a small community of hackers have built all of it. Amazing, amazing work. The one question I kept asking myself as I was watching the demo: Is there a mass market for such a beautiful, elegant, modular computing device?

roughly 5y ago
If you're asking aspirationally, I agree - I'd prefer a world in which this was what people expected and wanted from their technology. I think the ongoing success of Lego gives me some hope here for a mass market for tinkering. If you're asking more practically - the success of Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Seeed, and others suggests there's at least potentially a market here sufficient to sustain a moderately sized business for long enough to be worthwhile. Agree about the demo, too - there's some serious wizardry on display there. I think it's one of the projects that just gets more impressive the more time you've spent trying to do what they're showing off.
Solder_Man 5y ago
I think @roughly provided a good balance of practicality + optimism in their answer. My thoughts: Not immediately, but yes, eventually. Humans have an innate willingness and desire to tinker+make things. Those qualities have gone into hibernation due to the vast array of mass-manufactured, off-the-shelf devices in the last decade. But many (have and will) come to realize that the satisfaction ceiling is so much higher when you build something yourself, getting your hands dirty, and looking at the product of your efforts. Just that reason is enough to give rebirth to the experimental/inventive attitude that pervaded the 20th century. But there's also the fact that a personalized something can allow you to do stuff that a typical consumer product couldn't. Pockit just aims to enable and accelerate the above realization for hardware, the way that libraries and frameworks have done for the programming world.

baalimago 5y ago

I have no idea what the usecase is, but it's incredibly impressive from a technical standpoint

noneeeed 5y ago

It's like a grown-up version of the Little Bits kits. How very impressive.

rapjr9 5y ago

This work is impressive and I'd like to see it continue. I do see some issues though. The problem of connector reliability has already been mentioned. Let's say I add two LED modules and two sliders and I want each slider to control one LED, or I want both sliders to control both LED's or I want both sliders to control both LED's but one slider's action is reversed. That decision is in my mind and can not be automatically guessed, there has to be some way to decide which modules are linked to other modules and what action is expected. Do I want motion detected by a PIR sensor to turn a light on via a relay module or turn a light off (when I'm walking up stairs out of a basement)? Again, a need to configure. To go deeper, say I connect an I2C temperature and humidity sensor and I want the temperature to control a heating pad and the humidity to control a humidifier, plus I want a readout of both on an LCD module and I want both to feed into another LCD module that displays an air quality index while another LCD module shows CPU temperature. Configuration is needed. If I add 5 camera modules, do I run out of high speed buses? So far I see a few specialized use cases demonstrated, but not a general method of interface and routing configuration. Modules may need to be configured also (does the temperature module report Fahrenheit or Celsius? Is the conversion handled in the sensor or the app?) As soon as you start to build anything complex the default behavior is not likely to be what you want (try building an audio mixing board out of modules), so I see a limit on complexity. The capabilities of the editor mentioned in the video will be interesting (to be shown in a future video it says). Connections to external devices that are not wireless also seem like an issue, a pull on the HDMI cable is going to pull the HDMI module off the board. If I plug in a slider, a button and an HDMI module what are the slider and button automatically configured to do to the HDMI module? There is an attempt here to encode common functionality and routing. That only allows you to do common things, not uncommon ones. Still, until you try you don't know what is possible or how far this could go. I would encourage using optical and wireless interfaces instead of wired interfaces since those are much less sensitive to the quality of the contact. Power supply could be inductively coupled. If you make it all RF wireless you don't need the baseboard, the modules could be anywhere, powered by anything. The modules, especially the inputs, should be able to dynamically alter the routing of all the other modules (for example, routing audio from five input modules to either or both of two audio output modules controlled by a 3-state switch.) In some ways I see this as building a configurator for an MCU. MCU's have all kinds of I/O, timers, interrupts, some have RF interfaces and sensors, etc. Imagine all the modules (or at least RF/optical interfaces to them) already built into a chip and you just want to configure them for a specific application. Instead of copying the example code for a SPI interface and modifying it, you instead just configure it in a configurator. The configurator could automatically recognize multiple chips and let you route RF/optical connections between them (with a selection of protocols) and configure their I/O. No need for a baseboard or modules, everything is just general purpose chips with tons of stuff already built into it (sensors, RF, I/O, protocols), and you just turn on and off and route whatever parts you need. Sounds somewhat wasteful, but if you make a trillion chips like this it may actually be more efficient, particularly in terms of human effort, for building a wide range of systems. Security would be a problem, if a flaw is found in the basic design everything built using it would be vulnerable. Reliability might be increased since anything that fails would be trivial to replace.

mrfinn 5y ago

Lego meets Arduino. Loved every second of the demonstration.

neurocat123 5y ago

What happens when we take this concept into the third dimension—could we assemble these modular blocks into a mass of computronium? Perhaps slightly more realistically speaking, could they be made stackable? Perhaps this could be a way to set up certain operations, for instance you could have some hardware for doing efficient convolutions on a camera feed as a "middle" block.

moonlighter 5y ago

This is pretty incredible. An entirely different level than the old and trusty breadboards! Love how the components just snap magnetically and load the best-matching software to support them. Looks super promising!

Venkatesh10 5y ago

Looks good. But how will it perform over the years to come?

vanderZwan 5y ago
Arguably it would be better than current solutions because you can upgrade the modules that need upgrading while keeping the stuff that works, instead of throwing out everything and starting over.
- izzydata 5y ago
  Unless you want it to have a better computer. The computer doesn't seem modular to me. You can't quickly add additional or better memory. You can't replace the processor with a better one. The computer itself is a single entity that in many ways is less modular than a traditional desktop computer. Wouldn't a desktop with 100 USB ports be a modular computer in the same sense as this thing?
  - vanderZwan 5y ago
    It's a 25 dollar Raspberry Pi, not a 1000 dollar desktop.
    - xondono 5y ago
      So you are arguing this is better because you don’t have to throw it all together but then arguing throwing everything is not that bad? At least USB has and will be supported for years. The next revision will likely be incompatible with this limited cross connector (which I admit is cool nonetheless).
      - vanderZwan 5y ago
        No, I'm saying the modularity has limits that are defined by the use-cases this is designed for. Which seems to be smart-home applications and/or quick prototyping. A 25 dollar compute module seems like a perfectly sensible compromise to me in that context. If you need the modularity and power of a desktop computer so you can install a boat-load of RAM or upgrade the video card, get a desktop computer.

th0ma5 5y ago

The hardware is very cool. The start of the integration with the dashboard is neat, but I'm not entirely sure how useful it would be other than making a video like this. Perhaps something like OSC or something could help keep it modular from a software standpoint and not so toy seeming. I also think a lot of software has whole knows what layers expecting hardware to not just suddenly disappear. Appear is maybe less a thing.

ajsnigrutin 5y ago
Yep, looks great as a toy, but seems not-that-ok for any serious use, because for static setups, all the alternatives are a lot cheaper, because they don't have to be modular (eg. touchscreen display for controlling home automation). But I like the concept for areas such as schools etc., because it makes it possible to try a bunch of different things very fast.
- Tade0 5y ago
  As a third generation hoarder I have to say that the number one thing preventing me from doing projects such as home automation is that since I struggle with throwing stuff out, failed/deprecated devices would just pile up and I don't want that.
- vidarh 5y ago
  The alternatives may be cheaper if you can find one that does what you want. But in terms of the ability to quickly throw something together where existing stuff doesn't quite do what you want or is locked down, it looks amazing. In terms of "serious use" I think that depends on what you mean by "serious". E.g. my hone automation setup is not static, because I keep finding new little things I want to tweak, and often the ready-made solution lack options I'd like to have unless I'm willing to spend time tracking down very specific modules. My time is valuable to me - I'd happily pay extra for a modular system where I know if something is lacking a button for something I want I can literally just plug one in instead of having to search all over for a different model of something. Of course this will not replace mass market "close enough" solutions. But I think there are still more than enough people who want to tinker but don't want to have to whip out a soldering iron.

pjmlp 5y ago

Quite impressive demo.

nonrandomstring 5y ago

Sometimes the point of a technology is not its direct utility but to carry forth or promote an idea. Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear reactors. Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea that technology is configurable at the physical level without electronics skills. Strong interoperability legislation should be a part of technology going forward. Industry will welcome and adapt to it because it's ultimately a better compromise than tougher regulation and export controls.

snek_case 5y ago
> Because of what's happening with climate, pollution and e-waste, the future is modular. Modular phones, computers, cars and even nuclear reactors. Sounds cool, but the reality is that in order to get the best efficiency, you often want a purpose-built, specialized design. In the case of electric cars, you need your car to be very light and to have a very integrated design in order to maximize energy efficiency. I'm not sure what you mean by a modular car design, but you definitely can't fit any motors with any battery in any frame, that will just make for a car with terrible performance. That being said, we should be designing things to maximize lifetime, and we should probably ban certain materials or construction techniques that make recycling difficult. Maybe we need to ban or heavily tax non-recyclable materials. We could also do more to build a legal framework around right to repair. > Having this kind of thing in schools helps kids get used to the idea that technology is configurable at the physical level without electronics skills. Kids is probably the best use case. As someone who makes things I look at this product and I think it's necessarily going to be more expensive and less flexible compared to alternatives. For kids though, this can be a gateway to make electronics less scary. > Strong interoperability legislation should be a part of technology going forward. Industry will welcome and adapt to it because it's ultimately a better compromise than tougher regulation and export controls. I agree. We should be strongly promoting (and maybe legally mandating) open, documented standards for everything.
- toqy 5y ago
  > I think it's necessarily going to be more expensive and less flexible compared to alternatives What are the alternatives? Is there something like this I can get my hands on now?

lanewinfield 5y ago

As far as I can tell, this is a single individual that has done all of this work. I am floored at the design and intricacy of this project. Really, truly blown away. I'm sure there are plenty of edge cases to correct for but I haven't gotten so excited by a demo in a long time. I've obviously signed up to learn more.

seanw444 5y ago
Wow. One person. That's insane. This is a really cool project. I just signed up as well. Color me impressed.
symstym 5y ago
But remember, there's no such thing as a 10x engineer! /s
philliphaydon 5y ago
1 person? Man it's an absolutely incredible feat. I'm also blown away, and I want to play around with it. I would love to try and automate parts of the house and such.
- renonce 5y ago
  Pockit is just one of the small parts needed to automate parts of your house. All your devices have to cooperate smoothly and this will require a standardized IoT API from manufacturers.
  - philliphaydon 5y ago
    Sure but you could 3d print parts to automate traditional things and build on top of pockit. That’s what I like.
  - stavros 5y ago
    That exists, eg Zigbee or Z-Wave. I have Zigbee (it's an open standard) and I love it. Having the home automation communications be a message queue instead of a general-purpose communication protocol is so much better.

therein 5y ago

Amazing demo. Simply floored.

code_scrapping 5y ago

Blown away, by both the adaptiveness of the platform and software. It feels like the flexibility that I'd want for all of my prototyping experiments. Signed-up, and patiently cheering from the side-lines.

afarviral 5y ago

So cool. Anyone criticizing the real utility of one of these (e.g. calling it a toy) is not thinking long term. Over time a single unit could be repurposed for any number of distinct and serious usecases (home automation being the most natural fit, but many others), and this and its software are important steps toward a more robust and useful devices and less waste. Minitirized, waterproofed, secure and many more modules and "apps", standardized and mass produced. This is huge. Keep going!

whartung 5y ago
Honestly, it is a toy. A very cool toy, a very sophisticated toy, but a toy nonetheless. There were in the past, and I think still today, electronic sets that let you click together modules with magnets to make circuits. It was a very handsy, easy way to play with electronics. But, in the end, that's what it was -- play and exploration. The beauty of the concept is the easy interchange of the parts and such, and that's it downfall when you desire to render something down in to a "production" item. And by production, I mean something you're going to handle with any frequency. The ease of composability is counter to the hardening necessity for everyday use. I supposed you could glue the parts together, but by that time whatever you made is now made of rather expensive components. Or they could offer an alternate mechanic to "realize" systems built for the longer term. Until then, it's a wonderful toy. And that's not a bad thing.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- hnfong 5y ago
  I'm not imaginative enough to come up with actual scenarios, but I think it could plausibly become a "Swiss army knife" of electronics though?
- arendtio 5y ago
  To me it feels more like, being the thing for home computing/automation, that the PC was for computing in general. A PC has not a clear single purpose, but is very modular and you have to spent some time to adjust it to your use-cases. Similarly, the pockit has not that single use-case and you have to spent some time to adjust it to your use-case. However, especially with the Pockit-to-Pockit communication you can build so many cool things. Maybe a PC is just a toy too, but IMHO it depends on how you use it.

kwhitefoot 5y ago

Reminds me of M5Stack: https://m5stack.com/ https://m5stack.com/

gswdh 5y ago

rayrag 5y ago

Discussion/AMA on Reddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modular_pc_running_linux_updated_demo/ https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modu... Shorter demo (7:30) submitted to Reddit: https://v.redd.it/3wfbkleb4dm81 https://v.redd.it/3wfbkleb4dm81

beckman466 5y ago
very first Reddit post about this project from the creator from 2 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/comments/dj7ilc/so_ive_been_making_tiny_electronic_bricks_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/comments/dj7ilc/so_ive_been... all posts about this project (around 30): https://www.reddit.com/user/Solder_Man/posts/ https://www.reddit.com/user/Solder_Man/posts/

shabier 5y ago

This is really incredible. I can't wait to get my hands on the device and tinker around with it. It is giving me the same vibe as project Ara[0], and I'm here for it. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara

kaishiro 5y ago

Man. You think you're doing alright and then something like this comes along and just screams your inadequacies at you. What a wild achievement. Well done.

vishkk 5y ago
Whatever it was — a lie, the truth, or, most likely, their mixture — that caused me to make such a decision, I am immensely grateful to it for what appears to have been my first free act. It was an instinctive act, a walkout. Reason had very little to do with it. I know that, because I've been walking out ever since, with increasing frequency. And not necessarily on account of boredom or of feeling a trap gaping; I've been walking out of perfect setups no less often than out of dreadful ones. However modest the place you happen to occupy, if it has the slightest mark of decency, you can be sure that someday somebody will walk in and claim it for himself or, what is worse, suggest that you share it. Then you either have to fight for that place or leave it. I happened to prefer the latter. Not at all because I couldn't fight, but rather out of sheer disgust with myself: managing to pick something that attracts others denotes a certain vulgarity in your choice. It doesn't matter at all that you came across the place first. It is even worse to get somewhere first, for those who follow will always have a stronger appetite than your partially satisfied one. - Joseph Brodsky
- papandada 5y ago
  I'm not very well read but this writing seemed extraordinary. Turns out he won a Nobel prize for literature.
  - scoot 5y ago
    Meanwhile I have no idea what he's talking about. Perhaps it's lack of context, or perhaps the writing is so "extraordinary" that it is unapproachable to mere mortals.
    - bityard 5y ago
      It's (at least partly) about trying something new and learning to be happy with whatever level of success you achieve rather than envious of or competitive against those who do the same thing but do it better. At least, that's the way I took it.

vidarh 5y ago

It's been quite a few years since I was vowed by a hardware demonstration. This is amazing.

account_created 5y ago

Mind blowing. My reaction was: "Ok, that's cool, but he can not have X module" a minute later "X" appears, and it went throughout the video.

lloydatkinson 5y ago

I'm sure this will be killed off just like the CHIP computer

TamDenholm 5y ago

This reminds me of LittleBits [1] many years ago i bought a kit from them that was really very expensive and had some fun. The only problem is i never touched them again after the first couple of weeks of playing with them. However, they're certainly an excellent learning tool for kids and beginners. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LittleBits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LittleBits

erwincoumans 5y ago
Yes, we had several kits too, including SynthKit (LittleBits with Korg). The magnetic connectors of LittleBits became unreliable after a while, making it frustrating instead of enjoyable. Wish one could fix that properly.
prmoustache 5y ago
That's the problem with this kind of things. They mostly attract people interested in tech, but those kind of people are usuallt already working in tech. As much as I love those things, the last thing I want when I lock my laptop is start coding and fiddling with electronic devices. I either have to take care of the kids or go for a bicycle ride, spend time with my partner, have a beer or the sea/beach or all of the above and in no particular order. I need so much to be outdoor when I finish my work day I barely find time to make music although I love doing that. The people who could do that are the people who have time to spend hours watching Netflix series but usually they are the lazy type and not interested in that kind of things. Unless it is used by a school most of those things end up in drawer not to be used again.
- Koshkin 5y ago
  Indeed, people have reported having drawers full of Raspberry Pi’s, never to be touched again.

mothsonasloth 5y ago

Very cool, It reminds me of Star Trek's Isolinear chips that you would see Crew members slotting or re-ordering to create different effects, or create an ionic pulse from the deflector shield. https://youtu.be/rr8eO6gfnuY?t=66 https://youtu.be/rr8eO6gfnuY?t=66

beckman466 5y ago

this reminded me of Dave Hakkens and his Phonebloks concept video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDAw7vW7H0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDAw7vW7H0c

RTFM_PLEASE 5y ago
Yeah, the first 10 seconds of the Pockit video immediately sent me back nearly 10 years to Phonebloks. Some follow up: Typical, fairly sensationalist piece on Google's Project Ara - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQqudiUdGuo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQqudiUdGuo and then, Phonebloks, 5 years later - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwrIpv38nE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wwrIpv38nE

kilroy123 5y ago

I really want this to become a thing. I feel like computers and tech have become less and less fun over the years as it has become so commercialized. Something about this just seems fresh and fun again.

drekipus 5y ago
This is literally a commerical project that will most likely come with a form of lock in (ie: can just anyone make modules?) Tech is still fun. It might just be that you're getting older. Arduino and the like are probably the least commercialised and they are ok. But everyone grows out of them.

allisdust 5y ago

At the minimum this should win a design award of some kind. Looks like it quickly becomes complex when we combine software to the hardware but the way it seem to work with so many connectors feels just so intuitive.

throwaway5486nv 5y ago

This is mind blowing

adrianthedev 5y ago

Wow. This is like a low-code arduino. Amazing!

wnolens 5y ago
yes, cool way to think of it: low/no-code hardware.

severak_cz 5y ago

Ok. I am subscribed. If this goes for reasonable price and has some kind of soundcard block I am going to buy this and made synth out of it.

matlo 5y ago

Really impressive work

marcodiego 5y ago

Looks like Project Ara done right.

aqibgatoo 5y ago

Wohoo! I am blown away!

vivegi 5y ago

This is a great design and I absolutely love it. How does one build apps / custom behaviors for the hardware components?

u2077 5y ago

Truly impressive. Reminds me of Google’s (failed) attempt at modular devices. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Ara

moffkalast 5y ago
Was about to say, yep. "Oh, look! Here's Ara. Back from the dead. It's a miracle."

jet_32951 5y ago

So very many applications! One is it will make lashing up an approximately-OK control system easier early in a project. There are five or six machine designs in my past where having a rudimentary control system was needed for initial testing. This would have saved days or weeks on each one.

throwaway5486nv 5y ago
you mean for building ciruits? Could you please elaborate. I thought control systems was necessary for physical objects

bbayer 5y ago

Such modular design is tricky. Some parts require close distance to specific components like clocks. OP did a good job by solving such problems.

bodge5000 5y ago

was hooked as soon as I saw the MIDI out module, for musical applications alone this could be a gamechanger (to my knowledge theres nothing else truly like it out there, outside of complete DIY)

jpm_sd 5y ago

Previously https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590715 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590715

dang 5y ago
Thanks! Macroexpanded: Pockit Modular computing demo [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590715 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26590715 - March 2021 (33 comments) Project Pockit, a modular ARM computer runnig Linux - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26547377 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26547377 - March 2021 (15 comments)

tjchear 5y ago

Seeing Pockit gives me an idea: can we do something similar for Web APIs? Perhaps a web app with a 2D board where users can place modular blocks the same way one would place Pockit blocks on the magnetic breadboard. We could have a geolocation module, vibration module, button module, slider module, camera module, etc. Like Pockit, the system finds a script with the closest matching blocks to what's placed on the grid, and runs the script. E.g placing a camera flashlight module + button module on the grid triggers a script that would toggle the light when the button is pressed. User could also write their own scripts.

severak_cz 5y ago
It's already done. This is how these "website builders" (e.g. Wix) works - your put different modules onto a template and build your site out of these. Also Drupal and Wordpress have similar funcionality via plugins.
- tjchear 5y ago
  Right, but I wasn't talking about website builders. I'm talking about enabling access to a phone's various sensors and capabilities through a manner similar to Pockit.
punnerud 5y ago
How would that be different from NodeRed? https://nodered.org/ https://nodered.org/
- tjchear 5y ago
  What I have in mind is rather different. Imagine your phone simulating a Pockit experience, except the sensor modules are what your phone already provides (e.g geolocation, gyroscope, accelerometer, etc), the I/O are simulated buttons/sliders and screens. That's what I'm thinking.
  - orbifold 5y ago
    That is a cool idea :)

allenu 5y ago

Wow. This is so incredibly well done. The tech itself is amazing, but so is the design of everything, not to mention it’s all well presented visually. It reminds me of the classic “mother of all demos”.

wnolens 5y ago

What a beautiful labour of love. Thank you, I'm inspired.

duxup 5y ago

I’ve stared playing with an Arduino recently and thought “it would be handy if the various sensors and add ons just snapped on”…. This appears to be that, but with a Pi (and of course a lot of impressive finish / software ). A Pi for the masses / convince sounds amazing.

beal 5y ago
I did a similar thing with the air gradient diy kit. That these are pi based run full Linux and allow changes over time is is really compelling.
rapjr9 5y ago
Take a look at Seeedstudio's Grove line of modules: https://www.seeedstudio.com/category/Grove-c-1003.html https://www.seeedstudio.com/category/Grove-c-1003.html

izzydata 5y ago

Maybe I am being over critical, but this is not what I imagine when I think of a modular computer. It's cool being able to swap in and out all kinds of peripherals like that in any position and orientation, but the computer itself does not seem modular. Unless you could connect multiples of them together and increase their performance and space for more peripherals without causing additional overhead.

bee_rider 5y ago
He has a TPU tile. Automagically plugging in more compute would, I guess, require OS or application level support.
bityard 5y ago
The "computer" is not really the interesting part here. In fact, this product seems to exclusively rely on cheap devices that anyone can already buy (current supply chain notwithstanding) linked together by very well-standardized buses. The magic here is the overall flexibility and modularity of the system taken to a nearly absurd level. Kickstarter is lousy with smaller-scale attempts at what Anil has achieved. But where this really shines is in the software: You plug in some components and the system can automatically figure out what you want to do with them, and configure an application to use them instantly, at least for many simple but common cases. I really hope that when this is available, it ends up being a largely open ecosystem like the Framework laptop.

Uptrenda 5y ago

What a truly beautiful and elegant design. This is so reminiscent of the hacker ethos in how it captures the potential and love of technology. How can a project this creative not be more famous? I have seen many of these kinds of 'small, powerful computer projects' before and I've never felt inspired by any of them. But this project really captures the imagination with the potential of modularity / expanding capabilities. This is honestly so creative. It makes me filled with that childish sense of wonder I initially had with coding. What things could you make if you had a whole box of snap-ins and a few Pockits? This is frigging insane. If you're an angel investor consider throwing this guy a bone!

babagabooj 5y ago
- NhanH 5y ago
  Even self promotion (Show HN) is allow on HN, given that it satisfies the main criteria of the website
- Maraguy 5y ago
  Don't see any problem with that, if true or not. This a pretty amazing project with huge potential.
hasmatteam 5y ago
Felt the same way. It's been a while since I've felt this way about any technology. Feels good!

jack_riminton 5y ago

I can't believe this is just one guy. Get him a MacArthur genius grant, quickly

joezydeco 5y ago
There are loads of embedded systems hackers doing great things by themselves. They just get lost on Hacker News. Bunnie is probably one exception to that rule, though.

space_rock 5y ago

Can we get internet of things devices with power of ethernet? Seems so much easier that WiFi, Bluetooth and a battery and usb for recharging

ibejoeb 5y ago
That would be excellent. A little box that I can plug in with one wire and be done. Alternatively, I'd like a software product that makes it a snap to run programs on cloud provider but bridged/tunneled as if they were running on my local lan. I want it to support multicast dns and all of that stuff for things like sonos, zigby, chromecast, airplay, etc.
- erulabs 5y ago
  This is extremely close to what we're building at https://pibox.io https://pibox.io if you're interested - although after some polls we decided to drop PoE on our first model. Just improved the mDNS support last night!

ibejoeb 5y ago

Love the physical switches and controls. This is like VB but IRL.

rpmisms 5y ago

This is insane. Sure, it's not on the level of a professional tool, but you can emulate so many professional tools with it that who cares? Many people want a thermal camera on occasion, but probably don't need one lying around all the time. Here's the solution. Maybe you want a Gameboy? Put one together on a lazy afternoon and play some retro games. Oh, you just want a quick and dirty USB hub? Do it. Oh, no! Your car is acting weird and you want to stream the OBD-II data and match it with accelerometer data? Go for it! This is just insane in terms of flexibility, and I think it could replace many devices people use extremely infrequently, as well as do other things we don't really think about. And it's fun! Technology is absolutely insane now, and I think we neglect the fun aspect too much. Edit: I used the word insane a lot. I stand by it.

motohagiography 5y ago

When you struggle to think of what can't be composed in this architecture, it's a whole new way of building. It's clearly the expression of an incredibly elegant mind. Watching that demo was a moment that reminded me of a now famous comp.os.minix usenet post from the early 90s.

xondono 5y ago
> When you struggle to think of what can't be composed in this architecture Anything requiring low latency or high-throughput will probably struggle here.

syassami 5y ago

Wow.

idiotsecant 5y ago

This reminds me a little of the philosophy of the "frame.work" laptop. While it approaches the problem from the 'let's make a modular,repairable laptop' side and this approaches it from the 'let's make a powerful and easily extendable embedded device' side. immensely ambitious and cool projects, both!

hemloc_io 5y ago

Woah this is massively cool! I've always wanted little bits and bobs of hardware to mess around with, but actually getting into the EE required for it is fun but time consuming. This really fits right into what I'd want for something that allows for quick POCs, prototypes and just trying new stuff out. I'd love to make things like a hacked together OP1! https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1 https://teenage.engineering/products/op-1

danShumway 5y ago

I can't think of why I'd practically need or want this. I know on some level it's a toy, and there are better ways to implement all of this stuff if you're trying to make cost-effective hardware projects. However, wow do I want one. This is so cool, I heckin love this. I love everything about this. The whole thing just looks delightful from the blocks, to the configuration/programming, to how real-time and responsive the feedback is when moving blocks around and hooking stuff up. Amazing presentation too, this video is really well made.

debdut 5y ago

True example what an individual can achieve! Blown away

baalimago 5y ago

I'm much more interested in the person than in the product, in this particular case

netspider 5y ago

I would like to know the person behind this project?

mindfulplay 5y ago

Quite amazing! Regardless of the profitability or scaling this up, it’s refreshing seeing the modularity where the sum is much larger than the parts. Well, here the sum likely is larger than the product!

davesque 5y ago

I'm imagining that the creator of this project really went the distance in sticking to their initial vision of what was possible. I think sometimes visionary projects fail because the creators eventually compromise on the vision when the devils emerge from the details. But, if they can muster enough technical competence and determination to push through that difficulty, we get something like pockit. The video really makes me want to hear from the creator about the process of developing pockit and how different challenges were overcome.

mastax 5y ago

All I want to know about this is what the pinout of the connector is. I want to know how it was done and the limits of what it can do. The author has provided very little information about it[0], which makes me a little suspicious. [0]: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modular_pc_running_linux_updated_demo/hzz84c7/ https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modu...

Taniwha 5y ago
Yeah I want to know that too - I'm not so much suspicious, he's obviously done something amazing - more I wonder if he really has 12 pcie buses and they are they really wired in a way that they can be hooked up in 4 different orientations? (and what is the signal integrity like?)

webXL 5y ago

Blow away by the different tech demo'd here. It reminded me of "The Mother of All Demos" by Douglas Engelbart

breadchris 5y ago

checks calendar to see if this is an april fools joke nope, this is just amazing

gentle 5y ago

This is so great. It reminds me of what BugLabs was doing about ten years ago, but this is honestly better.

amarento 5y ago

The demo, on its own, is a masterpiece, as is the idea behind the whole thing. Bravo !

nl 5y ago

Please do a Kickstarter. I want to put money into this now.

huachimingo 5y ago

Already spreading the video through "contacts" ;) What an amazing design.

stormbrew 5y ago

If anyone else is curious, like I was, about what the signal bus is like on the pins, and couldn't find much detail on the website, the person behind this explained a bit on the reddit AMA someone linked: https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modular_pc_running_linux_updated_demo/hzz84c7/ https://old.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/ta85ql/my_small_modu... So it seems like it's kind of like low-pin-count ISA-ish bus with direct pin connections to the cpu's pins. Presumably that limits how big a board you can have to the number of gpio pins you've got, or you'd have to build some kind of multiplexing like oldschool irq/port sharing... I'm really curious if it would be possible to do this as, essentially, single lane PCIe blocks instead. I think it would be harder from a hobby-project perspective (and also probably complexify the blocks), but PCIe is kind of built around flexible topologies so you could build it around a pcie root complex/switch instead of just directly exposing pins to the devices ISA-style.

xondono 5y ago
> So it seems like it's kind of like low-pin-count ISA-ish bus with direct pin connections to the cpu's pins. SPI and I2C plus some generic pins. This are the typical interfaces used in microcontrollers. If I were to build a “bigger” versions of this, I’d avoid PCIe altogether and jump to USB 3.x directly, since it’s a much better fit.

ideology228 5y ago

This is one of the coolest thing I have seen in a long time.. awesome work

saulrh 5y ago

I can see this as a general-purpose computing device, but what I really want this for is simulation gaming. I could make a new instrument panel for every rocket I build in Kerbal Space Program. A dedicated selection of dials and toggles for every application I use. A different set of gauges and sliders for every plane in DCS! It'd be great!

arendtio 5y ago

> For this block's current version, I soldered circuitry directly taken from Google's dev board (10:57) Best line ever :D It is one thing to have the skill to solder a chip off an existing board without damaging it, but being able to reused the same chip with a completely different hardware interface is just impressive.

anonu 5y ago

This is beautiful. This is where art meets technology - and that's always been a fascinating crossroad for me.

throwaway5486nv 5y ago

Does each block require separate power source or the power comes from the core block(base)?

bloopernova 5y ago

I am blown away. I can't even imagine how complex the code must be behind the scenes for all of that to work together.

copirate 5y ago

Open sourcing it hasn't been decided yet: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pockit/comments/plhugs/is_this_project_open_source/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Pockit/comments/plhugs/is_this_proj...

FpUser 5y ago

I can't find any uses of it for me personally but I find this thing incredibly cool and nicely engineered and with attractive design. Could be a gold mine for kids education. Assuming of course there are no similar things from big guys (I've no idea what is really out there in this area). As a work of a single person this project is totally amazing. The author is a gem.